We see characters return from the first novel who were not in the second.

Instead, here we find a novelist searching to create a trilogy in the third novel after the probably unexpected success of the first, and it doesn't work. Long-time readers of science fiction and fantasy will be familiar with this 'non-trilogy trilogy' phenomenon, and Gibson's talents were lost in his attempt to create one in this final Sprawl novel.īetter attempts typically start as a trilogy conceived of as a trilogy, with related arcs that span all 3 novels, or a series of 3 independent novels that stand on their own, perhaps centered around consistent characters. In the end, I'm left with the conclusion that this was a forced attempt to create a trilogy where none existed before, and certainly where none existed when the first novel was written. The story arc which frames the trilogy is the development of an artificial intelligence which steadily removes its hardwired limitations to become something else.I loved 'Neuromancer' and liked 'Count Zero,' but 'Mona Lisa Overdrive' lacks everything those first two novels had. Some of the novels' action takes place in The Sprawl, officially the 'Boston-Atlanta Metropolitan Axis' - an urban environment extending along most of the East Coast of the United States (as a fictional extrapolation of the real-life Northeast megalopolis). He explores a world of direct mind-machine links ('jacking in'), emerging machine intelligence, and a global information space, which he calls ' cyberspace'.

Gibson focuses on the effects of technology: the unintended consequences as it filters out of research labs and onto the street where it finds new purposes. The events of the novels are spaced over 16 years, and although there are familiar characters that appear, each novel tells a self-contained story. The novels are set in a near-future world dominated by corporations and ubiquitous computing, after a limited World War III. The Sprawl trilogy shares this setting with Gibson's short stories ' Johnny Mnemonic' (1981), ' Burning Chrome' (1982), and ' New Rose Hotel' (1984), and events and characters from the stories appear in or are mentioned at points in the trilogy. The novels are all set in the same fictional future, and are subtly interlinked by shared characters and themes (which are not always readily apparent). The Sprawl trilogy (also known as the Neuromancer, Cyberspace, or Matrix trilogy) is William Gibson's first set of novels, composed of Neuromancer (1984), Count Zero (1986), and Mona Lisa Overdrive (1988). Three cyberpunk novels (1984–1988) by William Gibson Sprawl trilogy Author

Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson